My dad, born and raised in Pennsylvania, attended Mercer in Macon and graduated with a degree in education and a love for southern food, especially fried chicken — I’ve never seen someone get so excited over a Bojangles. My first experience with true southern cuisine happened on a road trip with him — we were following my sister’s softball team all over Georgia. I was 15. Okra, collard greens, and real BBQ were all foreign to me. I think I had seen My Cousin Vinny by that time, so I may have known about grits but had never tried them. I tried all the foods my father enjoyed, but the one thing I remember really enjoying was the fried okra. I was skeptical of the strange vegetable at first, but soon I was the one eating the last piece. When the trip was over, what I missed most, aside from the father-son bonding, was the food.
It was another several years before I tried pickled okra. Fried okra is delicious, but pickled okra is my jam! I purchased a few quart jars of pickled okra at the Saturday market a while ago, and as I paid the woman looked at me and said, “They have a little kick to them.” I smiled back, elated.
Now ask yourself this — is there anything better than spicy pickled okra? OK, your tastes may vary, but I love it. Tempted as I was to eat the whole jar, I saved some for garnishes in my drinks. I decided to go for a Red Snapper.
Red Snapper
For the rim (optional, but recommended):
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp celery salt
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper (reduce or omit completely if you don’t like spicy things)
Combine the above ingredients on a small plate or saucer. Use a slice of lemon or lime to wet the outside of your glass of choice. If you are uncertain whether you will enjoy the spiced rim, just wet half of it. Gently roll and press the top of the glass into the spice mixture. If any gets into the glass itself, wipe it out.
For the drink:
- 2 oz gin (I used OPIHR because of its amazing spice!)
- 4 oz tomato juice
- >¼ oz lime juice
- >¼ oz lemon juice
- 5 dashes Cholula (adjust based on desired spiciness)
- 2 dashes Worcestershire
- 1 dash soy sauce
- 1/4 tsp grated horseradish (not the creamy kind, and again adjust for desired spiciness)
- 1/4 tsp celery salt
- 5 turns from a fresh pepper grinder
- 1 pinch salt
Add everything but the gin to a mixing tin. Taste it make sure the tang, spice, and umami are all to your liking. Adjust as necessary, then add the gin and ice. Roll* between two tins. Pour into your rimmed glass and garnish with the kitchen sink, or at least with some pickled okra.
Red snapper eh? Maybe you have heard of it, maybe not. To all of you midday imbibers out there, the above recipe probably looks familiar. If you exchange the vodka in a Bloody Mary for gin, you have made yourself a red snapper. Like all great drinks, the final product depends on the quality of the ingredients you use. I prefer a red snapper to a Bloody Mary as long as there is a good spicy gin available. Otherwise, I’ll stick to the vodka. Whatever you choose, don’t skimp on the citrus — I find that most Bloody Marys fall flat because they are just made with spicy tomato juice. If you don’t have the tang from the citrus, you are missing out, so I add a little more than a 1/4 ounce of both lemon and lime juice. Don’t worry about using precise measurements – Bloody Marys are pretty forgiving. As always, taste it as you are making it and adjust as necessary.
*Roll?
No worries, it just means pouring back and forth between two vessels. About seven times is enough. Why do this? Well, you don’t want to shake this drink. Although a good head is welcome on a whiskey sour or a gin fizz, nobody wants a frothy red snapper (or Bloody Mary). I am also opposed to building this drink in a glass — as in all cocktails, water is a key ingredient, and I find that this drink will not have the proper dilution when you take the first sip if you just build it over ice. So, roll baby roll!
